Copyright on YouTube
In this video, Margaret Gould Stewart explains how working on copyright laws progressively from both sides (user and original artist) can benefit everyone in the long run. Essentially, when copyright laws are bent but not broken, it can actually be beneficial to the original artist, despite the bad image “borrowing” music might have developed over time. By being more lenient with copyright laws, it not only gains exposure for the original artist, but it can also allow everyday people to use and manipulate different parts of a song. In a similar aspect, GoogleBooks allows people to read certain sections of books… you can’t read the entire book, but it’s nice for people to have access to a preview before purchasing the product. Now there are definitely two sides to this argument… some people are for copyright laws, as explained why by Kenyon & Hudson in “Without Walls”, and others are not… or as we watched in class, people who prefer accessibility over restriction can be referred to as ‘copyleft’. What are your thoughts on this? Are you copyright or copyleft?
Remix Culture: Lucky Charms
According to Knobel and Lankshear, “music remix involves taking bits and pieces of existing songs and splicing them together or over one another.” (Lankshear & Knobel 24). In this case, the artist took bits from the popular Lucky Charms commercials and mixed them together, making it sound catchy with the help of auto-tune and other remix devices. Contrary to previous methods (where the artist had to combine tunes by using two or more turntables), these technologies are fairly accessible and affordable for anyone interested, which is why remix culture is becoming so popular. Do you think this song is an exemplary model of remix culture? Why or why not?
Public Domain: Dipity & Accessibility
As a quick reminder, Balsamo explains that an assemblage is “a way of defining a collection, or gathering of things or people.” Dipity could be considered an assemblage in terms of Balsamo’s definition in a couple ways. First of all, people come together to represent events in time (Dipity is the timeline website we used to show the class our interaction with various types of media at the beginning of the year). Therefore, a collection of facts is assembled into a linear timeline to explain the time and places of significant (or not so significant) cultural history. Second of all, many different people from across the globe can contribute to this website, because they have access to it. Dipity is free to use and anyone with Internet can participate in making a timeline for whatever reason they would need to, which means there is no restrictive or privileged access. Similar to the TED talk about museums, no matter if you’re rich or poor, what your religion is, no matter your class or social standing, you can participate digitally in making a timeline. As far as Copyright goes, anyone can use the timelines you create, but is that so bad? The whole purpose of the Internet is to share and communicate… so what better way to do so than to bring in your interpretation of an event and share it with others? The hybrid of information you create wouldn’t do you much good if no one ever saw it, right?
Hockey Ads & Augmented Reality
The hockey highlights in this video itself aren’t all that pertinent to our class material. The ads on the glass panels, however, are an excellent example of augmented reality, otherwise known as ‘AR’. On the left glass panel, we see an advertisement for Scotiabank… but can the people inside the sports arena see it as well? No they cannot, as the image is virtually placed on top of the real scene uniquely for viewers at home. The fact that certain stadiums/arenas need more money from advertisers is no concern of mine, but what’s fascinating here is the technological progress that’s been made in the last decade for AR. This innovative way to sell more to consumers is ingenious and makes me wonder how else advertisers can use augmented reality… will they be participating with the launch of Google Glass? Who knows, but for now, I’ll enjoy my hockey with a side of consumerism.
“Pogo: Master Music Manipulator” Revisited
Q: Go back and look at your previous blog entries. Refer back to remix pieces and discuss whether or not it is an example of remix culture. If it is, why? If not, how does it differ?
A: Back in October, I wrote a blog post about Pogo, an artist who uses sound effects from various films and turns them into music. As Knobel & Lankshear explore in their collaborative piece “Remix: The Art and Craft of Endless Hybridization”, they establish that a “remix means to take cultural artifacts and combine and manipulate them into new kinds of creative blends.” (Knobel & Lankshear 22). With this definition, Pogo is, without a doubt, a participant in remix culture. Moreover, the authors explain that “one popular kind of music remix involves taking bits and pieces of existing songs and splicing them together or over one another.” (Knobel and Lankshear 24). That type of song-splicing is what Girl Talk does… But what’s interesting here is that Pogo combines media that are different (music and movies), and takes specific sounds to not only make songs sound bearable, but also to keep his own artistic voice throughout his tracks; although every movie is different, Pogo manages to maintain his signature sound throughout all his music. For those reasons, Pogo is a perfect example of remix culture; he uses existing clips of film to create new mashup songs. Take a listen to the track “Upular” that’s posted here to see how well his process turns out.
The EyeChannel
http://prezi.com/qjaukrjaz01h/eyechannel/
Q: In groups 2-3, develop an idea for digital media application using Internet in some capacity that fosters the development at least 3 new media skills in youth at any age under 18.
A: Here’s a brief Prezi of Quinn’s, Steph’s & my idea for a new way to educate kids. Essentially it’s a spin-off of the 90s toy “Viewmaster”, but our product would be connected to wifi in an attempt to make education fun and entertaining for kids. Watch the Prezi if you want to learn more about our product. Hope you enjoy it… if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them here and I’d be glad to answer them.
The three media skills applied are:
Play– With the interactive features on the glasses, kids could answer multiple choice questions about a topic and comparing scores with their friends online.
Multitasking– By playing the games, hearing audio clips and watching videos simultaneously, kids can effectively learn to multitask.
Simulation– Since the glasses only emulate reality, kids can travel different parts of the world by accessing footage from across the globe, as well as gain information about those places.
Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” Played on Cellphones
This video shows someone playing the tune of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” on two cellphones. Just as we had difficulty comparing synthesizer players to artists like Yo-Yo Ma, I throw this out to you: Do you think the person who is playing the cellphones should be considered an artist? He interprets a song in an entirely new way, which makes him creative, but can he be compared to the great musicians of our time?
Muse Forced to Lip-Sync
When we were discussing lip-synching in class yesterday and whether or not it made the people performing true artists, this video came to mind. In Italy, the popular musical group Muse was told they had to lip-sync; the band was not impressed. The band members switched positions (the singer played drums, the bassist takes over guitar- and get this- Jenson Button, a British Formula One driver, takes over vocals). Muse’s playfulness with the whole situation just goes to show how they are true artists, as they not only prefer to play live, but they absolutely insist on it.
Digital Music: How Girl Talk Re-Invents a Genre
Girl talk is an artist that mixes songs from different generations and genres and transforms them by layering them with other tracks. Girl Talk’s music is a form of musical collage, because he takes certain samples, whether it be lyrics or instrumentals, and appropriates them into a hybrid, which in the end, becomes a new song entirely. By doing so, Girl Talk takes away the aura of the original samples he uses and creates a new unique aura, by remediating the original tracks. In every composition, Girl Talk manages to incorporate many layers of music by always including at least two samples at the same time; songs that usually exist within different realms sound musically cohesive. Girl Talk was one of the first DJs to experiment with this type of layering, and has become quite well-known for it. Do you think Girl Talk has created a new genre entirely through his interpretations, or is he the ultimate plagiarist?
courtneykrista 